Wednesday, 24 August 2011

Your host was blessed in once having a blunt Grandmother with some quality sayings. One which leapt into my mind recently was this doozy (earthy grammar left in for historical accuracy).

"When everyone is thinking the same, they ain't thinking at all"

She said that in the 70s but it applies like a mofo to ASH and their often quite absurd friends.

You see, it's now the consensus amongst failure-addicted tobacco controllers that scaring the crap out of smokers is a winning strategy, despite the policy increasingly looking dated considering regular doubts as to its efficacy, as mentioned here on Monday.

the Ashtray Blog came to a similarly unflattering conclusion on graphic warnings when they ran their own survey recently. That will be discarded with an arrogant chuckle by ASH as being not peer-reviewed, natch. But this one at Medical News presumably has been.

University of Missouri researchers have found that using a combination of disturbing images and threatening messages to prevent smoking is not effective and could potentially cause an unexpected reaction.

"We noticed in our collection of anti-tobacco public service announcements a number of ads that contained very disturbing images, such as cholesterol being squeezed from a human artery, a diseased lung, or a cancer-riddled tongue," [Glenn] Leshner [of the Psychological Research on Information and Media Effects (PRIME) Lab at the University of Missouri School of Journalism] said. "Presumably, these messages are designed to scare people so that they don't smoke. It appears that this strategy may backfire."

Coupled with the ridiculous stance that anti-tobacco is taking in blocking non-combustible tobacco harm reduction at every opportunity, you'd be forgiven for believing that their role is to ensure smokers keep smoking until such time as they fall into line and buy products promoted by pharmaceutical paymasters.

ASH, of course, could blow this apart by coming out in unequivocal vocal endorsement of electronic cigarettes, smokeless and dissolvable tobacco, snus, and other harm reduction options. Not sure we'll see that anytime soon, mind.

"We've just found that in 1426 there was an earthquake in Coventry and everybody thought it was the Day of Judgment, and we think this may have been painted as a result."

With Jesus as its pinnacle, flanked by the Virgin Mary and John The Baptist, and backed by the apostles, the painting has strong images of heaven and hell.

Alewives (medieval barmaids) are shown naked but for their distinctive headwear, plummeting towards the mouth of hell - represented by a serpent's open jaws - while those who have been good ascend a staircase to heaven.

Archdeacons and bishops, also naked apart from their headwear, are also seen queuing to be judged by Christ, with one unlucky churchman seen cast down to hell.

John Burbidge, senior conservator, said the congregation in the 1400s were supposed to see the image and think twice about the consequence of sinning."

Coventry Telegraph 2002

On further investigation the theory seems to be that the alewives were condemned for watering the beer.As they would see the image every time they went to church, it was probably designed to keep them on the straight and narrow.